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Topic: Derren Brown & The Placebo Effect (Read 1273 times)

Whilst the forum was down there was some really interesting stuff on TV. I don't know how well known Derren Brown is outside of the UK, but he's an atheist who performs some pretty awesome tricks, he is highly knowledgeable in the world of psychology and exploits it for his profession. He also performs experiments on his TV shows, for example, setting up an experiment to prove it's possible to brainwash somebody into an assassin without the assassin being aware that they are one. He did a couple of 2 part shows that were really interesting, the first was to convince somebody the zombie apocalypse was really happening to inspire some key character improvements.

The other was 2 episodes to do with the power of the placebo effect, the first helping people overcome some anxiety disorders and the second, an attempt to explain how God works as a placebo effect and then giving an atheist a religious experience. It was an interesting program to watch. I don't know if these links work outside of the UK, but they're worth watching:

The placebo effect is very interesting. Whenever I start a new medication it starts to work immediately before it is even physically in my system. This is just because my mind is hopeful that the new med will actually help me. Unfortunanately it wears off when the med is not really effective.

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It doesn't make sense to let go of something you've had for so long. But it also doesn't make sense to hold on when there's actually nothing there.

Mainly, it was interesting to see how effective placebos can actually be, but then Derren Brown is very good in using the power of suggestion and in using suggestion he was successful in giving an atheist a religious experience, the experiments are controlled of course and as with any psychological experiments he always debriefs his subjects and makes sure the ethical requirements are met and that people's psychological wellbeing remains in tact.

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“It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet” - Miyamoto MusashiWarning: I occassionally forget to proofread my posts to spot typos or to spot poor editing.